People say good things come in threes, right? Does that mean good things also come in 3 miles? Various run clubs around Austin are gaining more members by the week, making them a great place to get a workout in and meet new people with similar interests.
UT advertising senior Hannah Ngo leads Healthy Celebrations, a primarily student-run club that meets three times a week at 7 a.m. Healthy Celebrations started at the University of Georgia and has now expanded to over 20 other college campuses nationwide. According to its LinkedIn, the organization is dedicated to encouraging others and promoting wellness.
Ngo joined Healthy Celebrations in the spring of her freshman year. Because it’s student-run, the club is passed down as campus leaders graduate.
“I was super consistent with going during my freshman, sophomore and junior year because I loved Healthy Celebrations. It was a great way to build running into my routine and I loved the people and the accountability,” Ngo said. “I became a campus leader last year and a bunch of younger girls have been wanting to get involved which has been really fun.”
When thinking about her goals for the club, Ngo said she wants to keep growing the club and reach new people.
“A lot of freshmen have been coming this year and we have seen so much growth and consistency in our members,” Ngo said. “The people that want to show up will show up, so we just try to tell as many people as we can about Healthy Celebrations.”
Ngo’s favorite part of Healthy Celebrations is how laid-back and welcoming everyone is. With the group’s distance of 3 miles and different skill levels, the run club accommodates both beginners and students wanting to widen their social circle through a shared love for running. After runs, the crew visits local coffee shops and occasionally stops at Barton Springs for a morning plunge.
Griffin Lamar, a government senior at UT, enjoyed trying new run clubs while in Austin this past summer. At the beginning of this school year, he heard about the Texas Running Club. Since learning about them, Lamar frequently joins the club on runs.
“It has definitely improved my running,” Lamar said. “I go about three times a week, and it is a great way to hold myself accountable since I want to run the Austin Half Marathon in February.”
Texas Running Club does long-distance runs on Saturdays at 7 a.m. Lamar recounted one Saturday with the club when he ran ten miles, which made him appreciate how far he had come as a runner.
While Lamar enjoyed the Downtown Austin run club he was in over the summer, he only runs with Texas Running Club during the school year since every member is a UT student, which he said makes it easier to get to know the other runners.
“What makes Texas Running Club different from other run clubs is that it is a very friendly environment and easy to work into your schedule,” Lamar said.
Outside of UT, run clubs are just as popular. One of the most notable run clubs in Austin is Raw Dawg Run Club. Their first run took place in February 2024, and since then, their Instagram has amassed nearly 77,000 followers. Their following has taken them nationwide with their most recent run being in Santa Monica, California.
Olivia Chapman, an international relations and global studies sophomore at UT who is also on the executive board for Healthy Celebrations, has been running since fifth grade. Chapman and her friend, Fiona Wilson, saw Raw Dawg Run Club on Instagram and felt compelled to try it out. They were drawn in by how big the club is and how anyone in Austin could participate.
“With social media, there are so many little fads, but the fact that running has gotten popular is awesome because it encourages me to try new things,” Chapman said. “I used to run alone but run clubs like Raw Dawg offer that sense of community and fun. I never knew running could be so community-based.”
As a member of the executive board for Healthy Celebrations, Chapman said her experiences at Raw Dawg Run Club inspire her to take the student-run club to a new level. One way Chapman believes Raw Dawg Run Club stands out from other clubs is through their strong social media presence.
“The way they present themselves on social media definitely makes you want to go,” Chapman said. “They have a very unique way of advertising and have (collaborated) with cool brands like Gymshark. When we see that on social media and (see) how happy and adventurous the leaders are, it’s so contagious and makes you wanna (go).”
Whether you have conquered the Austin Half Marathon already, want more practice with running, or simply want to make new friends, Austin is a great place to find a supportive community to help you reach your goals.
With the laid-back pace of Healthy Celebrations, the long-distance training sessions held by Texas Running Club and the social nature of Raw Dawg Run Club, there is a run club for every Austinite.
